This invention relates generally to the art of fluid sprinkling and more particularly to snow making towers for ski slopes.
The present invention pertains to improvements in snow making towers of the type disclosed in Dupre U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,199,103 and 5,360,163.
These patents disclose inventions that pertain to adjustable snow making towers which are comprised of a vertical support pole and a support arm pivotally connected to the support pole adjacent the upper end thereof for pivotally movement from vertical to horizontal. A snow making aluminum pipe tower is secured intermediate its end, but adjacent its lower end, to the support arm and is provided with snow making nozzle mechanisms at the upper end thereof. This pipe tower is supported from the support arm for elevating the nozzles above ground with either pivotal movement of the support arm toward vertical or with pivotal movement of the pipe tower itself toward vertical relative to the support arm. Remote air and water supplies are connected to the pipe water tower to provide water and air under pressure to the nozzle mechanisms at the upper end of the pipe tower for discharge into ambient atmosphere for manufacturing snow in subfreezing conditions.
A problem encountered with such adjustable prior art snow making towers is that the support mechanisms for the generally aluminum pipe tower are constructed of steel and the support mechanisms are therefore relatively heavy. Accordingly, when it is desired to remove the support mechanism from the vertical support pole that is anchored in the ground, it generally takes at least two men to lift the heavy structure off of the support pole. For example, the support mechanism for the tower itself might generally weigh approximately 120 pounds or more, without the aluminum pipe tower attached. However, to merely reconstruct the prior art snow making tower support systems of steel with aluminum would be expensive, unpractical, and complex.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a versatile yet light weight and simple support mechanism for aluminum pipe snow making towers which can be readily constructed of aluminum and weigh considerably less than the steel support systems of the prior art.